Ball in general, life on the road… on this blog, either you do or you don't.

A brief conversation with Carlos Martinez

A little bit of this made it into my story on the Futures Game that will go up on Cardinals.com later today. But in addition, here’s a writeup of my brief chat with Carlos Martinez on the field this morning.

The excellent Jesse Sanchez served as interpreter.

MLB.com: How has your first year in the U.S. gone so far?

Martinez: It’s been my goal to make it to the United States and pitch here, and I’m very grateful the Cardinals gave me that opportunity to do that. So I’m just here working as hard as I can, doing my work, proving to them that I’m worth it.

MLB.com: Whether in baseball or off the field, what’s been the hardest adjustment for you so far?

Martinez: The biggest thing for me was the language. You come here and you don’t know what’s going on, what all the people are saying. I’ve just been able to concentrate on baseball, concentrate on doing my job and really focus on the game.

MLB.com: Many Cardinals fans are already looking forward to seeing you and Shelby Miller pitching together. Have you given than any thought at all?

Martinez: It would be an honor to pitch in a rotation with a guy like Shelby Miller. But right now, I’m really just focusing on doing the work, and maybe that will come in the future. We really need to concentrate on what we’re doing now.

MLB.com: What’s the biggest thing you’re working on as far as your pitching right now?

Martinez: Right now I’ve really been working on my changeup. It’s a pitch that’s really helped me in Davenport. It’s helping me now. And it’s something I’m really focusing on. I know it’s going to help me in the future.

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